11.4.22
What Happens Next?
“Can Australia Become a Green Energy Superpower?” | 73

Green mining is a dirty business, but our sustainable future depends on it. As we begin to transition to a decarbonised future, we need to put in the work to ensure it's a just one that keeps the planet and all its people in mind.

Monash University’s podcast, “What Happens Next?”, wraps up its series on critical minerals by considering how we can get the shift from coal mining to critical mineral mining right, positioning Australia as a green energy powerhouse on the global stage.

Mining engineer Dr Mohan Yellishetty, an Associate Professor at Monash University, discusses Australia’s potential to turn mainstream mining waste into wealth, and the ability of our existing mining workforce to adapt from mainstream mining to green mining.

Dr Paris Hadfield, a research fellow at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, tells host Dr Susan Carland about what we can learn from the past to ensure our decarbonisation evolution is considerate of all the affected communities by taking a place-based approach.

Finally, Professor Susan Park, Professor of Global Governance at the University of Sydney, outlines the environmental impact of extraction mining – weighing up whether or not it’s worth it in the big picture.

A full transcript of this episode is available on Monash Lens.

Learn more:

• Australia’s yet to capitalise on its rich deposits of critical minerals
• Battery-up: Climate change is essentially an energy challenge
• Australia's sustainable energy future

Sources:

• Australasian Mining History Association

“What Happens Next?” will be back next week with a new topic.

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